Why live a longer and healthier life? Many reasons: taking care of ourselves so that:
we can take care of those we love?
reduce our health insurance costs so that others will be helped?
be less of a burden on those who will take care of us?
die an easy, simple and peaceful life?
It’s never too late to start! -mackie
(source below cited)
It’s true that life expectancy in the United States rose dramatically during the last century—from 51.1 years to 78.2 years, according to the United Nations Population Division.
But that doesn’t even crack the world’s top 35. Japan, with a life expectancy of 82.6 years, is number one, while such diverse countries as Malta (19), Guadeloupe (26), Cyprus (27) and Chile (34) outrank the United States (37).
Blame it on obesity, many experts say. A full third of Americans are now obese, and another third overweight, with the steepest increases in average weight occurring among children and minorities. Some experts say American life expectancy will soon decline.
“It now appears certain,” says public health expert Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago, “that unless we find a way to intervene, today’s younger generation could live a shorter and less healthy life than their parents’ generation for the first time in the modern era.”
For much more click on:
http://www.aarp.org/health/longevity/info-04-2009/myth_buster__longevity.html
